‘Crazy’ car troubles

WHEN Louise Hoey was shunted in a minor accident in Sheffield, she thought the matter would be dealt with in a few weeks.

But 15 months later she is still without her beloved Vauxhall Astra convertible after mechanics tried and failed to repair the electronic roof 11 times.

In that time, she’s had eight hire cars and the 31-year-old teacher, who lives in Totley, has been forced to make endless trips to garages in Attercliffe and Chesterfield.

But now her patience has run out because she is just five weeks away from having a baby.

Louise has been pursuing a claim through the other driver’s insurers, Churchill.

She said: “I’m pregnant and I’ve been going through this stress for 15 months. It’s time for Churchill to call an end to this craziness. It seems they will never quit. The plan was to sell it in January and buy something sensible long before I had a baby. But here I am without a working car and the birth is just days away.

“Six times it’s actually been delivered back to my house after supposedly being fixed, but it’s always gone wrong again. Eleven attempts is beyond a joke.”

CHURCHILL has agreed to write off the car and pay Louise £4,000 plus £500 compensation.

A Churchill spokeswoman said: “As Mrs Hoey’s car was in good condition at the time of the accident, and in line with Mrs Hoey’s wishes, we agreed to repair the car at the time of the claim.

“During repairs a fault with the electronic control unit for the convertible hood was identified and the replacement part had to be ordered from Germany, which contributed to a delay in repairing it.

“However, an intermittent fault developed with the replacement part.

“As the fault has developed again since the most recent repairs, we have now offered to write-off the car. We have offered Mrs Hoey £500 in compensation, as a goodwill gesture in recognition of the length of time that the repairs have taken.”

Louise said she was unhappy with the £500 offer.

A Churchill spokeswoman said she should contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.